The word ‘give‘ can mean many different things. As a verb, the meaning is to transfer possession or allow.
For example:
- I gave Sammy my jumper. (transfer possession)
- My mum has given me permission to go to the party. (allow)
Give is an irregular verb. The past tense is gave and the past participle is given.
phrasal verbs with give
Phrasal verbs with ‘give’ include:
- give away
meaning – distribute something for free, tell a secret
example – I’ve bought mum a puppy! Don’t give it away, I want it to be a complete surprise. - give back
meaning – return something you borrowed, or someone has lost
example – I gave back the money you lent me last week. Have you forgotten? - give in
meaning – surrender or submit and essay, a form, homework etc.
example – I gave in my final assignment then headed straight to the pub. - give in to
meaning – let your desires control you or reluctantly agree to something
example – I’ll have to give in to the kids and let them have a puppy. - give off
meaning – emit something
example – My small torch gives off a lot of light. - give out
meaning – distribute or emit
example – The crowd gave out a huge cheer when he won the Oscar. - give over
meaning – stop doing something annoying or pass the responsibility to another
example – When Terry got too old, he gave the company over to his son. - give up
meaning – stop doing something or surrender
example – I give up! Tell me the answer. - give up on
meaning – lose faith in something
example – I gave up on my team winning the league months ago. - give + reflexive pronoun + up
meaning – surrender to the police
example – The gang gave themselves up as their hideaway was surrounded by armed police.
picture phrasal verbs with give
Let’s learn the meaning of the phrasal verbs that contain the verb ‘give’ in more detail and see some examples in use.
Did you know that many idiomatic expressions (idioms) in English also contain a lot of verbs? Just like phrasal verbs, idioms are a major part of the English language (slang in particular). They are used constantly amongst native English speakers and are handy to know and understand.
Now you’ve learnt all the phrasal verbs with give, how about learning the idioms with give too?
